Is Saab doomed because Victor Muller wants to have his cake & eat it?

Saab: Time for Victor Muller to be forced aside?

As the Saab Saga gets sillier by the day, we wonder if Victor Muller is the destroyer of Saab, rather than its saviour? And of Spyker too?

Victor Muller is a charming and charismatic man, as evidenced by the endless stream of seemingly sensible business people he’s persuaded to invest in Saab, and other Muller ventures.

But we’re beginning to wonder if the demise of Saab has been hastened by Muller, rather than delayed. And is Victor Muller’s seemingly obsessive desire to keep control of everything he’s involved in wrecking any chance of Saab surviving?

The Pang Da and Youngman deal to take a stake in Saab seems to be now all but over. The original deal – which isn’t binding, as far as we know – was for Pang Da and Youngman to take a majority stake in Saab in exchange for an investment of €245 million.

But we believe that although the Chinese car companies would own the majority of the shares, Victor Muller and his ‘associates’ would still be in charge and be calling the shots, In fact, it’s been suggested that Muller would still control a majority of the voting shares in Saab even with Youngman and Pang Da on board.

That seems to be an identical situation to the deal between Vladimir Antonov, CPP, Victor Muller and Spyker.

A deal seemed to be in place for Spyker to move to the ever expanding portfolio of interesting car companies being put together at CPP by Brenda O’Toole and Vladimir Antonov. It seemed a perfect fit – especially as CCP had invested heavily to take on Spyker production – but the deal was never finalised.

A source close to that deal tells us that it was never finalised because Victor Muller insisted on staying on-board as Chairman of Spyker and in a position where he – and his ‘cronies’ – could direct Spyker in their interests.

Interestingly, the deal Muller says he has arranged to sell Spyker to North Street Capital from under the noses of CPP is exactly similar to the deal now announced by Muller to ‘Save’ Saab. And both deals seem to be fantasy deals.

We thought North Street Capital was a hedge fund offshoot of General Foods. But the guys over at The Truth about Cars have discovered that North Street Capital is a strange beast, with no real offices, no track record and run by a man – Alex Mascioli – who, it appears, is a shady character, to say the least.

The Administrator for Saab’s Court Protection also says the agreement with North Street Capital to loan Saab $60 million and invest $10 million in shares is so insubstantive as to be worthless.

And then, to put this whole thing to bed, we’re hearing that Pang Da and Youngman have offered to take Saab over lock, stock and barrel for a reputed €700 million. But Victor Muller’s having none of it, hence the Mickey Mouse deal that suddenly appeared with North Street Capital.

We have to say, much as we admire the tenacious way Victor Muller has set about building his house of cards, it’s surely time for him to step aside and give Saab a chance? And Spyker, too.

Spyker in the hands of Brendan O’Toole and Vladimir Antonov at CPP is a perfect result, and Saab in the hands, properly, of Youngman and Pang Da is probably the only chance Saab has of surviving. And even prospering, if Pangda and Youngman can do for Saab what Geely has done for Volvo. Although that’s a big ‘if’.

Let’s hope the Swedish Courts see it that way next week.